George Berkheimer
The Howard County Council approved County Executive Ken Ulman (D)’s 2012 operating budget in May, voting 4-1 to accept it with no cuts. Councilman Greg Fox (R-Dist. 5) again voted against the budget, calling on the Charter Review Committee to help effect changes that would give the council more power to shift money.
“We might as well just get a bunch of rubber stamps,” Fox said. “[W]e’re not really affecting the budget. It makes it so there’s almost no reason to be looking at these things. We have no options.”
Fox reiterated that he was looking for “very minor” changes in order to support this year’s budget.
“A couple of people did try to get there, but bottom line is that we didn’t,” he said. “[A]t this point I just cannot vote for it.”
Councilwoman Courtney Watson (D-Dist. 1) said she related to Fox’s frustrations. “There are things in this budget that I don’t necessarily agree with,” she said, explaining that she preferred to compromise if she found the majority of the budget acceptable.
The $1.56 billion operating budget and $179.3 million capital plan was boosted by an unexpected windfall from the state, which provided an additional $1 million for county libraries and an additional $2.6 million for schools.
“The county executive presented us with a very tight budget,” said Councilwoman Mary Kay Sigaty (D-Dist. 4). “At least for me, it funds major priorities in our community, the most important being education, the library and community college, changes we were able to make this year that we haven’t been able to make in the past.”
The approved budget fully funds the county school system at $512.6 million, an increase of $6.3 million from last year, and provides a 3% increase to Howard Community College. Education funds represent 65% of the fiscal 2012 budget.
Differing Viewpoints
Ulman’s budget triples the funding available to the county’s Office of Environmental Sustainability, allowing it to boost efforts to manage stormwater runoff. Funding for residential bulk trash collection was also restored.
The council did make several changes, redirecting $400,000 to pay for four new police officers and shifting $125,000 to create a new administrative position that will focus on the redevelopment of Columbia’s Town Center.
Fox took exception to pay increases for several appointees.
His council colleagues, however, contended that the increases were appropriate in comparison with similar positions in other counties and given the expansion of responsibilities, particularly those in information technology and those involved with regional administration of the Inter-County Broadband Network.
As for Fox’s argument that a pay grade increase for the county’s new transportation administrator violated an earlier council agreement to keep elevation of the transportation office cost-neutral, Sigaty pointed out that the budget for transportation ultimately saw no change.
“I think the whole point of creating a department of transportation is to elevate how we focus on transportation, so I think it’s appropriate for that person to be [at a higher pay grade],” said Councilwoman Jen Terrasa (D-Dist. 3).
Some Good News
For the first time in three years, county government employees will not be asked to give back some of their salary through furlough days.
“I appreciate the hard work done by county employees,” Ulman said. “They’ve done more than their fair share to help us through these difficult times.”
Also approved in the budget legislation was a bill increasing the county’s hotel room rental tax rate from 5% to 7%.
“I’m encouraged by the fact that [revenues are] designated to the EDA (Economic Development Authority) and to [Howard County] tourism,” Fox said. “It was supported by the business communities in those areas. However, I’m concerned especially as it relates to EDA that we haven’t been given very good info as to how that money will be spent.”
Watson, however, said she spoke with EDA board members and its director. “I think the director … has a plan in mind that needs to be further vetted with the board with the use of this money,” she said.
Veterans Commission Advances
Despite his disappointment with the budget process, Fox had the satisfaction of seeing his long-sought Veterans Commission come to the verge of fruition in May. The council will vote in June to accept appointees to serve on the Howard County Commission for Veterans and Military Families.
Those appointees include Reginald Avery; John Beck; Jonathan Branch; John Clark; Antonio daRosa; Jill Godalevsky; Edward Herbert, III; Jerome Jones; Howard Mooney, Jr.; Olayta Rigsby; Robert Seipel; Stacy Shade-Ware; and William Volenick.
“Most of you know how excited I am about this getting started up and my belief in the importance of it,” Fox said, thanking the county executive for a decision that pairs county BRAC Executive Director Kent Menser with the commission. Menser is also a former Fort Meade installation commander.
Also in May, the council introduced legislation asking the county’s sustainability board to review the environmental implications of locating the CSX Intermodal Rail Facility in Elkridge, which is one of four proposed candidate sites.
“We’re asking the Sustainability Board to be the oversight committee and interpret the NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) process, review any results of the process and make recommendations based on that from a local level,” Watson explained. “We don’t want to have duplicative efforts, but we do want some help in interpreting this process for Howard County.”
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Rubber stamps? Why would Councilman Fox want to get a bunch of rubber stamps? Although these may be very minor changes to the budget, they would be very major changes to the U.S. Postal system. First off, the postal service is having sufficient problems selling regular paper stamps; making stamps out of rubber would be much more costly. Also, did he give any thought at all as to how a rubber stamp would be affixed to a letter? Or that all the canceling machinery would have to be retooled to accept rubber stamps?
I pity the fool.